Scholl said he had been denied information that he had requested from his lawyer.

"I can't fight this case without the information and the tools that I need," Scholl said. "I would like an attorney to do as I ask him to."

Mead agreed to sign an order directing that the mental health records be provided. He said he would take Scholl's request for a new lawyer into consideration.

The judge also agreed to postpone Scholl's trial, which had been scheduled to begin Aug. 10. The trial has been repeatedly postponed for mental health evaluations.

"We're having some difficulties in the representation," Tutera said after the hearing. "This underscores, ... for people who are incarcerated with mental health issues, the need for treatment."

Scholl, of Allegheny County, is accused of fatally beating his cellmate, Theodore Sherlock, 51, at the State Correctional Institution at Albion in October.

Scholl has a history of mental health problems. He was sentenced in 2014 to seven to 14 years in state prison, plus 27 years of probation, for slashing a Pittsburgh bicyclist's throat in September 2012.

Scholl said he became enraged after a traffic dispute with the cyclist and was hearing loud voices, prosecutors said, according to The Associated Press. Scholl was convicted of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, and the sentencing judge said he gave him a long term of probation to ensure he would get mental health treatment.

Madeleine O'Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.